Heart Beats Fast
by skagengiirl
Summary: COMPLETED! Any curse can be broken with a true love's kiss…Graham & Emma
1. Chapter 1

**SUMMARY:** "Any curse can be broken with a true love's kiss…" AU Graham & Emma  
**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** Sorry about the title :P I was listening to "A Thousand Years" by Christina Perri while finishing this and at a loss to figure out a proper title, I just ended up calling it this. I changed a little detail in the scene at the station, which I hope you'll understand. I'll explain in the end note, so please just go with anything in this fic.  
**DISCLAIMER: **If I owned Once Upon A Time, Graham wouldn't have been killed. So obviously I don't own anything.

**Heart Beats Fast**

She can't believe this is happening. Less than twelve hours ago she was in the kitchen with Mary Margaret, denying, trying to convince both herself and her roommate, that she didn't have feelings for Graham. Now… Now she's here. In the Sheriff's station, leaning on the edge of one of the two desks, feeling like her chest is bursting with… something. It feels like her heart is too big for her chest. If that was even possible.

She _knows_ what this means. She's felt like this once before. Over a decade ago. And she never thought it would happen again. Back then she made a promise to herself that she wouldn't _let _it happen again. Yet here she is, smiling at her boss. Graham. And he's just looking at her confused about why _she's_ looking at him like that.

"What?" He says with a little smirk.

She doesn't do or say anything to answer his question right away. She just stares at him for a good few seconds, wondering whether or not he really doesn't know or if he does and just wants her to say it. This is something she _has_ to do. For Graham and most of all, herself. It's time to break down that wall…

His smirk disappears as he watches her push herself off the desk and makes her way towards him. She's walking ever so slowly towards him, tormenting the guy who has fallen so deeply for her, who wants so badly for her to kiss him. He's pining for the feel of her lips on his.

She takes the small steps to give her time to convince her brain that she's going with her heart this time. She wants to let _everything_ go and just focus on this very moment, on this man. This _beautiful_ man… The first guy to catch her heart since she was 18. So, she smiles the smallest of smiles to reassure herself and tells every part of her that this _is_ going tohappen. And it does…

She takes the last step and glances from his eyes to his lips, his perfectly shaped lips that she can't wait to touch with her own. And it's like in slow motion, but it finally happens and it feels like this is something that was supposed to happen. Like it was destined to be, like they belong together. Not that she's sure that she believes in that stuff, but that's how it _feels_.

He answers her kiss immediately and it's a slow kiss. It's not needy or filled with desire. It's a testing kiss, but a very sweet one.

She feels one of his hands on her hip and the other making its way up to the side of her neck, cradling her head. His thumb is stroking lightly up and down on her hip as if to soothe her, as if he _knows_ this is hard for her. She responds by lifting both her hands, one landing on his shoulder and the other on his chest.

The kiss deepens easily, but just as she's about to pull him closer he freezes and jerks back. She looks at him. He's got this frightened look on his face and it scares her.

"Graham?" She says, trying to get his attention. "You okay?"

He still looks frightened, but it quickly dissolves into relief and joy. "I remember," he says.

"Graham?" She says again.

She really wants an actual answer from him this time. He's scaring her. She's afraid that what he remembers resembles what David started remembering a couple of days ago, which crushed her friend's heart. She wants more than anything for that not to be the case here, but she's _so_ afraid that it is, that he remembers how he started seeing Regina. She _wants_ Graham, like she's never wanted anything. And somehow her heart is telling her that this… that her wanting him _so_ badly is more important than finding her parents. Not that she will ever stop trying to find them.

"I remember," he just says again, looking determined.

"You remember what?"

He starts walking over to her, determined about something and the closer he gets, the less she knows what he's going to do. Is he going to break her heart? Is he just going to apologize to her for leading her on and then run off to find Regina and make up with her? Is he going to hug her and just forget about what they'd shared less than ten seconds ago?

She's being negative. She knows that. But growing up the way she has there's really not any way to escape becoming a cynic, a negative person. Foster kids _dream_ of their parents finally coming to pick them up and get them out of the system. But once they reach their pre-teen years, reality sets in. The parents are not coming and from then on… negativity rules the minds and lives of abandoned kids.

She keeps looking at him, trying to find _any_ indication of what he's doing, what he's thinking. Suddenly a look of gratitude appears and she hopes this comes in favor for her. A single tear rolls down from one of his two gorgeous blue eyes and he reaches up to her cheeks to cradle her face with his hands. She smiles, but it fades away quickly as she realizes that this doesn't necessarily mean he wants her the same way she wants him.

"Thank you," he then simply says.

He doesn't elaborate. He doesn't say _what_ he's thanking her for. But she smiles again anyway, because even if he's letting go of her, she's still glad that she helped him with whatever he needed help for. But then he leans in and the relief she feels overwhelms her. Her eyes are burning with tears of happiness that are threatening to fall, but she wills them away. She doesn't want to cry now no matter how little she's let herself be guarded tonight.

He touches her lips, kissing her quickly, intending to move in again to deepen the kiss, but he pauses as a small distinctive pain appears in his chest.

She can feel that he's tense, so she puts her hands around his neck and starts rubbing circles gently on the back of his neck, massaging him. And it makes him relax against her again. The faint pain is soon replaced with a tingle that makes him smile. He knows what just happened. She saved him.

And this moment, right here, couldn't get more perfect. Neither one of them have ever felt anything like this before. He hasn't been allowed to feel anything. She _has_ felt, but nothing as strong as this.

Trying to get as much out of this moment as possible, Emma dips her head a bit to catch Graham's with hers again. And he gladly welcomes it, moving his hands around to the back of her neck to pull her closer. As the kiss continues and intensifies, she tightly wraps both her arms around his neck trying to get as close to him as possible, standing on her toes. He grabs a firmer hold of her, wrapping both his arms all the way around her tiny waist, to keep her balance even. As she got what she wanted him to do, she loosens her hold on him and moves her hands to the sides of his neck, before slipping them further down to his collar bones. She starts fumbling with his tie, trying to untie it leaving no doubt in Graham's mind what she's up to and he pulls away.

"Emma…" He says against her lips and kisses her one last time, before pulling away.

She's disappointed, he can tell, and maybe even… insecure? And she's backing away from him. Graham is quick to reassure her though.

"No, it's not like that," he says softly and pulls her back to him, tightening his hold so she can't step away again. He soothes her by stroking her back softly with his fingers just the way she's always liked it and it removes all her willpower. "I just…" He starts, "I was with Regina less than 24 hours ago…" This makes Emma cringe, so he places a kiss on her forehead before continuing, "And I feel like she's still on me? Like she's on my clothes, I…" He pauses, frowning before continuing, "I just want to wait a little while, okay?"

She nods still a bit unsure, so he kisses her again really thoroughly this time, leaving no doubt in her mind that he _really_ wants her.

"Let me take you home," he says against her lips.

Not feeling like saying goodnight to him yet, she agrees with a slight nod of her head. He rubs his hands up and down her arms a couple of times as if to warm them. Then he reaches behind him, picking up her jacket and helps her put it on. She follows him into his office as he goes to get his own and slings it over his arm. As they leave, he puts his hands on Emma's shoulders, rubbing them a couple of times before taking her hand and intertwining their fingers. She smiles up at him. This feels good.

What she doesn't know is that she saved her one true love from a quick, yet horrible death just by kissing him.

"I'm throwing these clothes out tomorrow," he jokes, causing her to chuckle as they leave the Sheriff's station.

At the same time, a mile away, the Mayor of Storybrooke, Maine, is frozen standing still in her hidden vault. She had come down here intending to crush the Huntsman's heart, killing him and his alter ego, Graham. But as she'd held the heart in her hands, about to crush it… It had vanished. What _she_ doesn't know is that this particular heart is connected to another, very _important_ heart.

The heart had magically reappeared in his chest because of a very special kiss…

**So, I added a very short kiss between Graham and Emma, so that the second kiss could break his first curse: "not feeling anything." His second curse was to not remember his true identity, obviously.**

**I'm working on just a small little thing to add to this, so if you're curious to know what will happen in the coming moments after this, click on "follow". I don't know how long it will take, but I hope it will be up soon. Please be patient :) And I hope you will review, even if it's just a short one.**


	2. Chapter 2

**SUMMARY:** "Any curse can be broken with a true love's kiss…" AU Graham & Emma  
**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** Sorry for the delay. My inspiration disappeared a month ago when I had to... take on something more than I expected, than I wanted to.  
But the second chapter is finally here! :D It might seem like an unnecessary thing to add though - like I should've just ended the fic with the first chapter. But some of the stuff in this update were ideas that I just couldn't leave alone, so therefore I wrote a second chapter. A third chapter will also come at some point, but again, I don't know when it'll be up. That's why I don't leave it with cliffhangers. Waiting for an update on a fic or a movie or an episode after a cliffhanger is just excruciating!  
This is for my new friend Maaike - from the Netherlands - who is on her way to British Columbia, Canada right at this very moment. She's going to "Storybrooke" (aka Steveston) :D Not jealous at all!  
Anyway, I hope you all like it! :)  
**DISCLAIMER: **If I owned Once Upon A Time, Graham wouldn't have been killed. Though I guess I can't really say that as the reason he died was because Jamie had obligations in Great Britain I guess. Sucks big time.

**Heart Beats Fast  
**_CHAPTER 2_

"What made you change your mind?" Graham asks Emma, while driving down Main Street a couple of hours later.

On the drive from the station to Mary Margaret's apartment both their stomachs had grumbled, so they'd stopped by Granny's for a couple of grilled cheeses and shakes. They'd then driven off to the Toll Bridge, so they could be alone without receiving looks from other town members. They had stayed in the cruiser as it was too cold to sit outside and eat. Guess you could call it a date.

She looks up at him, meeting his glare for a couple of seconds before moving her gaze into the far off distance. She frowns. She's not surprised by his question, but she doesn't really know how to answer it. What _had_ changed her mind? She knows that Mary Margaret put the idea in her head, but what had made her act out on it?

She squirms in her seat, "I don't know," she says honestly. "Mary Margaret confronted me about my, um… my wall," she hesitates, "and uh, I guess when you told Regina it was over and you looked at me, I felt like… I could read your mind? I felt like we were on the same page." She has no idea if she's making _any_ sense and runs her hands through her hair in frustration. Everything she just said felt like a cliché to her, but he asked and she's trying her best to explain, "And especially after you left her standing there and caught up to me…" She frowns, "I decided to just let go, to not be so guarded and… take a chance." She finishes her explanation, sighing and hoping that he understood.

He pulls up at the curb outside Mary Margaret's apartment and turns in his seat to look at her. She meets his gaze and he looks at her in a way that tells her he's proud of her.

He reaches over to take her hand and entwines their fingers, still looking directly in her eyes. "I'm glad you did," he says with the utmost sincerity.

She looks down at their hands before looking up at him again with a smile shining in her eyes. "Me too." And she secretly hopes it will be worth it, that she won't get her heart broken again. She knows she won't be able to take it if _he_ ever left her. What she feels for him is much stronger than what she's ever felt for any other man. And it doesn't even make sense that she's only known him for about a week and she already has these strong feelings for him, but that's how it is. And it makes it even harder for her.

She sighs and reaches for the door handle and opens the door. "Well, goodnight" she says and then leans over to give him a quick goodnight kiss, but he's out of the car in two seconds and jogging around to the other side. "What are you doing?" She asks with a smile as she steps out onto the sidewalk.

"I'm walking you up," he simply says and slams the car door shut.

_Wow, a gentleman_, she thinks to herself with an eye roll, but can't hold back the smile that her lips insists on forming. He reclaims her hand as they enter the building.

Once up in the hallway in front of the apartment, she lets go of his hand and starts taking off her boots in the hall when they stop at the front door.

Graham frowns, looking down at her fumbling with the zipper of her boots. "What are you doing?"

She looks up at him, still trying to get them off, but she loses her balance, so he reaches out for her preventing her fall. "I don't want to wake up Mary Margaret," she explains as she stands up again, finally being rid of the boots.

Unfortunately for her, her roommate hasn't gone to bed yet. Mary Margaret heard someone talking out in the hall, but it wasn't until her name was mentioned that she raised her head and went to open the door.

"I appreciate that, but I've not…" Mary Margaret trails off, when she sees who Emma's with.

Busted Emma sighs. She knows what's to come when she goes inside. She looks over her shoulder at her friend. "Can you give us a minute?"

Mary Margaret raises her hands failing at holding back a smile. "Take all the time you need," she says and closes the door again, but not before shooting an 'I'm proud for you' look at her friend.

Emma turns back and lets out a loud breath, dropping her head in her hands. _Why did she have to be up late _tonight_ of all nights?_ She thinks to herself. Ever since she moved in she'd noticed that Mary Margaret is a strict 'go to bed at 10:30 P.M. at the latest' kind of person. And it's way past 11 now. _Great._

She hears Graham laugh, causing her to look up at him. She feels him taking ahold of her wrists and pulling them away from her face. "It's not funny!" She says and pushes at his stomach with their entwined hands, but she still smiles. His laugh is contagious.

"It kinda is," he replies with a goofy grin on his face, but still sympathetic about her feeling awkward in these kinds of situations.

She pulls away from him, pointing a finger at him, "I should make you come in there with me!" She says, not at all angry at him. She just hates when she's the center of attention. Especially when it comes to her love life. While, yes, Mary Margaret is her friend, she still prefers to keep her relationships as private as possible. She looks thoughtful for a moment, "But you probably shouldn't. It'll just make it even more awkward."

He nods, but is disappointed when he realizes that he won't see her for another 9 hours. Wanting to get as much of her as he can to make it through till morning, he seeks out for her lips. Just as eager to kiss him, she leans up to meet his lips halfway. Still with their hands laced together, he reaches around her waist and holds on to her tightly.

"You-mf," she tries to start a sentence, but a moan escapes from her throat caused by his lips demanding hers. She ends up taking control of the kiss and starts kissing him the way only she knows how. A way he hasn't been kissed before which she knows will leave him breathless. And it doesn't just leave him at that; it leaves him completely dazed as well. She then looks up at him with a gleam in her eyes, well-knowing he won't be able to talk for a little while. "As much as I want to stay out here with you, you really need to go, before I drag you inside and up to my bedroom," she admits with a smile.

He nods also smiling. "Goodnight."

She lets go of his hands. "Goodnight."

He turns to leave and she circles around to go inside. But she doesn't open the door when she realizes there's something she should – and wants to – say to him. So she turns back around.

"Hey," she takes a step forward and stops him with gentle a hand on his arm before he leaves the hallway to go home for the night. She continues, when he looks at her, "I'm, uh…" she drops her eyes for a bit, before looking up again, "I'm sorry about what happened before at the station. You know… what I alluded to."

He shakes his head, "You don't have to-"

But she continues anyway, "I just… I guess I was acting out of… habit? I haven't gone further than that since I was 18, but…" she sighs, crossing her arms and closes her eyes, "I _really_ care about you," she says and meets his eyes again, "and it scares me."

She searches his eyes for a bit, but he pulls her into a tight hug breaking their eye contact. She melts against him, resting her chin against his chest.

This was really hard for her to say and he knows that. He knows she's been hurt badly in the past and he wants to do everything he can to make this easier for her. So, he makes a promise to himself, right in this moment, to help her feel safe during this relationship they've entered into. He doesn't want her worrying about him leaving her, hurting her. Which he wouldn't ever willingly do and he needs her to know that.

For her, she hasn't been able to open up to anybody, much less a man for over a decade. But after tonight… After admitting to herself – and Graham and Mary Margaret – that she has feelings for him, it makes her want to be up front with him. She wants to open up to him and tell him about her past. She wants him to know her. Even the bad things. She knows he won't judge her for any of the things she's done, or hasn't done for that matter. Hiring her as his Deputy, despite having arrested her twice, means more to her than he could know.

He kisses her temple and she closes her eyes at the feel of his lips. He leans back to look in her eyes again, "I really care about you, too," he lets her know.

And this is as close to admitting their love for each other as they'll get. For now.

She pulls away, still feeling quite uncomfortable in situations where feelings are shared out loud, but she shoots a sweet smile at him. "I'll see you tomorrow," she says as she reaches behind her to open the door, not taking her eyes off of him.

He watches her as she steps inside the apartment and waves at him with a smile. He reciprocates and stands watching her until she closes the door. He hangs his head and brings a hand up to scratch his neck as he leaves. He knows he's going to have to keep his other identity from her. She wouldn't believe him even if he did tell her and would most likely end up pushing him away. And he doesn't want to lose her. Not for anything in the world. His feelings are just too strong.

But he knows it's not going to be easy to keep something like that from her. He doesn't _like_ that this is something he has to do for the sake of this new relationship. But this is just something that can't be said. Not yet. She has to start believing on her own with no one forcing her to. To her it's crazy and impossible. But he has faith that one day she'll realize that it's the truth and will break the curse. She's already broken his unknowingly. There is no doubt in his mind that she's more powerful than both of them think.

Emma has been leaning against the door, waiting until she could hear him leave. She knows that Mary Margaret is looking at her, but she's ignoring it and just concentrating on her thoughts. She needs a moment to process all the happenings from tonight and most importantly; she needs to process her feelings towards Graham. How could it be possible to only know a man for just a few days and already have feelings so deep for him?

"So…?" Mary Margaret drags the word out.

Emma shuts her eyes for a few seconds, bracing herself for the oncoming interrogation. "Can I just say that you were right and just leave it at that?" She asks, hoping. The wink in her roommate's eyes tells her otherwise. She wants details. Emma sighs. "Of course not," she mutters and walks away from the door, plopping herself down in one of the chairs by the kitchen island. Mary Margaret pushes a mug towards her. Hot chocolate with cinnamon had become a nightly routine ever since she'd moved in.

Her roommate smiles and says, "Start at the beginning."

And she does. She starts with telling her that Graham had kissed her the night before and that Regina had come by the station earlier to tell her to stay away from him. How Emma had gone looking for him when she learned he wasn't feeling well and then gotten into a fight with Regina – though not over Graham specifically. She didn't go into detail about him going on a quest to find his heart, convinced that he didn't have one.

**_~/~flashback~/~_**

What the hell happened back there? _She thought to herself as she left the cemetery and could finally see her car. She knew Graham was behind her, but she didn't turn around. She needed to clear her head and almost hoped that he would leave her alone for the night. But she had no such luck._

_Just as she opened the car door and was about to step into her car, she heard Graham's voice, "Emma! Hey,please wait!"_

_She closed her eyes for a few seconds, before turning around taking her hand off the door. He wasn't that far away from her, and yet he was jogging to get closer sooner. He was silent when he stopped in front of her, so they just stood there staring at each other. He didn't want her to leave yet. He needed to know how she felt after what just happened at the cemetery, but he knew she wouldn't willingly enter into a conversation like that. But upon noticing the cut by her eye caused by the punch Regina had given her, he found the perfect excuse to get her to go with him._

_"There's a first aid kit at the station. Come with me and I'll fix that cut for you," he said as he lightly brushed a thumb over it._

_Emma raised her hand up to the cut that she didn't even know was there. But sure enough, there was a small wound. "Okay," she agreed. "I'll meet you there."_

_She didn't want to leave her yellow bug in front of the Mayor's house. And also, the drive to the station – no matter how short – would give her a little more time to clear her mind. But as he turned to get into the sheriff's cruiser she found herself actually being glad that they could talk things out tonight. It might finally give her a restful night which she hadn't had since she caught him climb out of the Mayor's window. And maybe Mary Margaret was right. Maybe it really was time to let someone in, past her wall. So, she made a deal with herself then and there that if she felt the least bit like taking a chance with  
him tonight, she was going to do exactly that._

**_~/~flashback~/~_**

Emma ends the story with Graham driving her home. She hadn't given away all details. She'd just said enough to please her roommate's curious needs.

Mary Margaret reaches across the table and places a hand on top of Emma's. "I'm happy for you," she says with a big smile, before letting go of her friend's hand.

Emma smiles and finishes her cocoa. "I'm gonna go to bed," she says, but goes to rinse out her mug first. "Thanks for the hot chocolate," she says and shoots one last smile at Mary Margaret before disappearing up the stairs.

**So, there it is. I hope you liked it - and that you'll review :) Have a good weekend!**


	3. Chapter 3

**SUMMARY:** "Any curse can be broken with a true love's kiss…" AU Graham & Emma  
**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** I can't believe it's been two months since I last updated this story! I am so, so, so, so sorry! Once again inspiration disappeared, then I went to Monte Carlo for the TV Festival there and I've been working on getting this done ever since.  
This chapter will jump in time. Not backwards then forward and backwards again. Only forward, always present time :)  
Anyway, it's pretty long (almost 4000 words), so I hope that makes up for the delay. It's not my proudest work, but I hope you guys like it.  
**DISCLAIMER: **Once again, if I owned Once Upon A Time, Graham wouldn't have been killed. I found out in the meantime that Jamie wasn't the one behind the decision of leaving the show; it was the "master minds'" Eddy Kitsis & Adam Horowitz

**Heart Beats Fast  
**_CHAPTER 3_

Almost two months had gone by and yet they hadn't gone further than the occasional make-out whenever time would let them. On the night they'd kissed at the station they hadn't just established that they were more than co-workers and friends, but also that they would take it slow. They had just ended up taking it slower than either of them had expected. Circumstances had taken their spare time from them, taking the usual relationship stuff along with it. Dates, casual walks and talks, sex… They hadn't had any of those. Yes, they'd eaten dinner together, but that happened over paperwork or with Henry sitting next to them. And yes, they'd been on walks together, but it was never without purpose. Always, always, always did something or someone come in-between their alone time.

However, today Graham had been dead-set on cheering Emma up. After she'd threatened Regina to take Henry back, Regina had become even more strong-willed in keeping Henry away from her. So, he'd invited her over to his apartment for a casual date, to take her mind off things. They'd ordered in some Chinese for dinner and everything about the night had been completely casual; nothing really romantic about it, except for the company. Until a simple kiss had turned more passionate than intended, quite possibly due to the sexual tension between them.

Graham now held Emma in his arms as they lay on his couch, a blanket draped over their naked bodies. He drew random patterns on her upper arm and she was holding on to his free hand hanging over the edge of the couch in front of her. She loved being in his arms, but she also felt incredibly vulnerable as she lay there with her back against Graham's chest. And that was not a feeling she liked having. Not that she wasn't enjoying him holding her, she was! But making love for the first time had been overwhelming.

She felt like she needed to get some fresh air, to breathe, but she didn't want to leave him. She knew that if she did he'd think the worst and she didn't want to do that to him. But never mind what her heart said. Apparently her brain was always the boss and it was making her take the decision she didn't want to be taking.

She sat up bringing the blanket with her, wrapping it around herself feeling as if she needed to cover more than just her emotions right now. "I should go," she said standing up and started picking up her clothes.

"Why?" Graham sat up looking at her with a frown.

"I just…" She picked up the last item of her clothes splayed on the floor, holding it all in one arm against her stomach. She turned and looked at him. "I need to go. I need some air," she said and then went to his bathroom to put her clothes on.

Out in the living room Graham stood up, put on his boxers and leaned against the doorframe of the bathroom. He could sense that something was up, so he didn't push it by entering the bathroom. But he did startle her when she came out, her hair now pulled up in a messy ponytail. "What's wrong?" He asked.

"Nothing is _wrong_. Everything is… right." She couldn't find another word for it. She didn't want to use the word 'perfect'. "This right here," she gestured to the couch, "it was amazing." She finally looked up at him. "But it was overwhelming, too," she said this so softly that if they hadn't had eye contact he wouldn't have heard it. "Not having experienced anything even remotely like it," she said, her voice a few octaves higher than before, "it was intense."

Graham had always been very aware that her opening up like this wasn't something she usually did. She definitely wasn't a fan, but this was a situation where she just had to in order to assure him that she wasn't going anywhere, that she wasn't leaving.

She took his hands in hers. "I'm _not_ running away. Please believe that."

"I love you," he said even though he knew she wasn't ready to say it back. He didn't need her to. He just wanted her to know.

She looked at him in surprise, her hands still holding his. No, it wasn't a surprise to her. She just hadn't expected to hear it now. "I… Yeah?" She asked nonetheless. She wasn't used to someone loving her. Especially the way he did.

He smiled at her. "Yeah," he confirmed, his eyes shining with adoration.

She ended up staying.

~/~

_2 days later…_

Emma barged into Graham's apartment after her little "rendezvous" with August in the woods. She'd come and gone to Graham's place quite a lot since they started dating 7 weeks ago ago, so she didn't knock anymore. She took her jacket off and dropped it on Graham's recliner, before going straight for the couch and dropped down next to her boyfriend, sighing. He put his arm around her shoulder and she gladly welcomed it, taking his hand that was hanging off her shoulder in hers. The second she'd walked in the door he'd sensed that she was upset. He knew her more than she would like.

"What's wrong?" He asked, looking at her.

She looked up, meeting his gaze. "August," she said, before looking down at their hands lacing them together. "He dragged me into the woods, telling me that he was the boy who found me after I'd been abandoned." She closed her eyes. "He started telling me this crazy story… He tried to convince me that Henry's fairytale thing is true; that _he_ is one of the fairytale characters, that he escaped from the curse along with me through an 'enchanted tree'."

Graham frowned. "Who did he say he was?" He asked. He'd never thought that August coming from _over_ _there_ could be a possibility.

She looked up at him, her brows furrowed now too. "Does that even matter?"

He shrugged. "I was just curious."

She cocked an eyebrow with a short chuckle. "No," she said. "There's more to it."

How could he answer this without telling her that he was one of the fairytale characters as well? She needed to believe on her own. She would run and not only would the town be stuck in the curse forever, but he would lose the one person he'd ever loved, the one who'd given him his heart back only to take it for herself. It wasn't his, it wasn't Regina's. It was Emma Swan's and hers alone, and he couldn't imagine his life without her, nor did he even want to.

Too much time had gone by and he felt her pull away from him. "Graham?" He looked at her with sad eyes. He didn't want this to be the end of them. He didn't want to hurt her.

"Emma…" He trailed off not knowing how to continue, but it seemed to be enough.

She pushed herself up from the couch and took a couple of steps backwards; away from the couch, away from him. "No," she said dropping her eyes to the floor not wanting to believe that the man she loved believed in Henry's fantasy curse.

He stood up and tried to get closer to her, but with every step he took forward, she took one back. "They're right. Henry and August, they're both right."

"Please…" She was shaking her head as she heard him talk.

"The night you kissed me at the station and I said I remembered?" He'd never seen her so scared, but he had to continue. "Your kiss brought back my memories of that life, _my_ life. The wolf we followed to the cemetery is my brother. I was abandoned by my parents and left to die in-"

She finally met his gaze, glaring at him angrily as she said, "No!" And it made Graham stop talking. Tears now glistened in her eyes. "You can't believe in the curse," she whispered, wishing with all her heart that this wasn't happening, that this wasn't real. "_Please_ tell me you don't," she pleaded.

He looked at her with sad eyes knowing that what he had to say next was going to hurt both of them so badly. "I can't…"

Tears spilled onto her cheeks. She squeezed her eyes shut, dropping her head to the floor once again and placed her hands on her hips, putting her invisible armor back on. She couldn't believe this. She'd set herself up for heartbreak. Again. That night when she'd decided to let her guard down, she'd done it because it'd felt right, because _he'd_ felt right. He still felt right, but she just couldn't be with someone who was crazy enough to believe a 10 year old boy's story about an entire town being cursed fairytale characters.

"These memories… They're mine, from my life as the huntsman," he continued to tell his story in an attempt to make her believe. "Regina hired me to kill Snow White – your mother – but I couldn't, so I let her run. I helped your father escape Regina's castle, saving him from getting executed."

He searched her eyes for any sign of belief, but she was just looking at him with an angry stare again. She picked up her jacket and went to leave, but Graham grabbed her wrist and stopped her.

"Don't leave, Emma, please…"

She took her hand back and looked sternly into his eyes. "Goodbye, Graham," she said in a cracked voice and left him standing in the middle of his living room.

~/~

_The next night…_

"_Hello_," she heard her friend's voice say on the other end.

"Mary Margaret…" she said silently and takes a moment to think of how to say what she needs to say. She closed her eyes for a few seconds. "I'm sorry I left. I never should've done that. I just… I understand that you're angry with me and you don't want me in your life anymore, but um…" Her voice cracked. The possibility of losing not only her son, but her first and only friend she's ever had was too much.

"_Emma, what's going on?_" Mary Margaret's voice was laced with worry and Emma now felt hopeful that maybe all wasn't lost with their friendship. Mary Margaret wouldn't sound so worried if she didn't still care about Emma.

"Henry… He's… He's hurt." She fought back tears and tried to get control of herself, so she wouldn't break down. "I… I don't know how this happened, but he… he collapsed. He just collapsed; he's unconscious and I, I just…"

Emma heard a bell ring and a door slamming on the other end and imagined Mary Margaret leaving Granny's. "_Are you at the hospital?_"

"I just pulled up out front."

"_Okay, I'm coming_," her friend said and hung up, resisting the urge to call her out on talking on the phone while driving.

And apparently it was magic. All of it… It was magic. Henry's theory was true. Emma could see her baby self being held by a curly, long-haired Mary Margaret, David fighting men in armors with a sword, protecting her and putting her in the wardrobe.

When she heard Regina enter the room she grabbed her arm violently and pulled her into the janitor's closet, throwing her against some shelves and attacking her. She threw her around, pushed her up against more shelves and yelled at her. It was true. All of it was true. Her mind was racing. She had so many questions. Why did she cast the curse? What had made her so cold-hearted? Why did she try to poison her? Where was Graham's heart? But she decided to keep her focus on Henry, just Henry.

Emma walked out of the janitor's closet with Regina close behind her. She spotted Graham through the glass and bolted through the door, rushing over to him. She didn't know how he knew to get to the hospital to be there for Emma and frankly she didn't care. She was just happy to see him.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry I didn't believe you, I'm sorry for treating you the way I did," she said, shaking her head as she walked closer to him. She wasn't herself right now, which allowed her to do things that she wouldn't normally do – like, apologize.

He held out his arms. "Emma, stop, don't…" He said and embraced her, holding her tightly against him. "What happened?"

She pulled away and looked up at him. "He ate a poisoned apple turnover that was meant for me," she replied and felt Regina's presence behind her. "But, Graham, I have to go. We have to find Gold and see if he knows how to save him."

"I'm coming with you," Graham said not wanting to let Emma go with Regina to see Rumplestiltskin alone. He didn't trust either of them.

"No, you have to stay here," Emma said and dropped her eyes to his tie. His stare got too intense. "Mary Margaret is on her way and I don't want her to think I just left when Henry's-" her voice cracked.

The fact that Mary Margaret wasn't just her friend anymore, but her mother as well hadn't crossed her mind at all since she found out the curse was real. She'd kept her focus on her son.

Graham sighed, not happy about letting her go. "What do you want me to say to her?"

"Just, uh… Just tell her that we're trying to find whatever could've caused him to collapse." She met his gaze again. "Just tell her that."

He looked behind her at Regina, before looking at Emma again. "Be careful."

She nodded, before walking around him. He watched her walk away and lingered on the spot for several seconds after she'd disappeared from his sight, before turning and going in to stay with Henry. Emma didn't want him to be alone, and neither did he. He sat down in a chair near his bed and leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees. He couldn't tear his eyes away from Henry's lifeless body. This couldn't be the end for him. This little boy, whose life had barely even started, was staring death right in the face.

It didn't take long for them to come back, but it wasn't the end of the fight. No, far from it. Apparently Emma had to use a sword to get a potion out from within some_one_ that would save Henry. Emma had to make it really clear to him that he needed to stay. _I'm not wasting time discussing this with you,_ she'd said and only then did he let her go without him. Henry's life was hanging in the balance and time was of great value and not allowed to be wasted. Emma would never admit it out loud, but she was thankful that she hadn't run into Mary Margaret.

"You have to fight, Henry," Graham said to him when they'd left and he was once again left alone with him, "You hear me?" A lone tear escaped his eye as he reached over to touch his arm. "Emma… she needs you to stay alive. I need you to, Regina needs you to… we _all_ need you to stay alive." His voice cracked. "We love you and you need to fight for us. Okay? Just hang in there."

"Where's Emma?" Mary Margaret asked when she stepped into the room, startling Graham. He'd been so lost in his thoughts that he hadn't heard the door open. "I would've thought she'd be here glued to his side, latched onto his hand."

She looked at the mess that was on one of the other cots in the room. It was clear that his backpack had been turned upside down to empty its contents, maybe to find whatever had done this to him? Her eyes then fell on Henry's beloved storybook lying under his pillow. She walked over to him and lightly grazed her fingers over the letters on the cover. She couldn't help the tear that fell from her eye and she picked up the book, clutching it to her chest. Her having Emma as her roommate and friend had ultimately led to Henry becoming a much bigger part of her life than just in her classroom. He'd taken on a much bigger role. And if Emma had meant it when she said they were like family, then her relationship with Henry would be like that of an Aunt and her nephew. Wasn't it? She had become too attached. She just didn't care about him as her student anymore. She loved him.

She squeezed her eyes shut and clutched the book even tighter. Then she turned back around and looked at Graham, expecting an answer.

"Uh, her and Regina, they went to find whatever could've caused this."

She nodded and looked at Henry for the first time since she'd walked in, then sat down next to him, laying the book down in front of her and beside him.

Graham left the room, knowing that Mary Margaret wanted to be alone. He felt saddened at the fact that she didn't know who she really is and how much more Henry is to her than just her student and friend's son. Graham wanted for this family to be reunited so badly. They deserved it more than anyone. Every heartbreaking decision these people had made – Snow and David sending baby Emma through the wardrobe, Emma giving Henry up for adoption, etc. – had been forced upon them because of various circumstances, and all they'd ever wanted was to be together, _united_ as a family.

He looked through the glass at Mary Margaret sitting on the edge of Henry's bed and reading to him from his book. She read to him for about an hour until the monitor went crazy. He flew in through the doors along with the doctors and nurses. He watched Mary Margaret being led towards the door by a nurse, but he took over thinking that no one should be comforted or led out of a place like that by a distant professional. Anyone in a situation like this needed a friend and right now, Graham was the closest thing and he didn't mind at all. He considered Emma's family his own.

Henry fought through that round of heart failure and both Graham and Mary Margaret went back in to sit with him. But when Mary Margaret yawned for the third time in ten minutes, he told her to go home and sleep. When she left he leaned back in his chair and sighed, thankful to be relieved of the tension that'd been between them ever since they came back in once Henry had been stabilized.

While they had been out in the bullpen watching Whale and the nurses work to keep Henry alive, Mary Margaret had turned to him frowning and asked why Emma left the night before. He'd looked away from her guilt written all over his face, prepared for Mary Margaret's wrath because he'd hurt her best friend, but she never said anything else. He had _felt_ her anger though.

~/~

_A couple of hours later…_

He'd called Emma, hoping that she'd be out of the basement already and could be reached on her cell. He hadn't wanted her to get the message from one of the doctors or nurses who were just doing their jobs. He'd wanted her to hear it from _him_; from someone she cared about, someone who cared not only about her, but her son as well. He loved Henry; there was no doubt about that, and he'd loved the thought of maybe taking on the role as his father one day, if both Emma and Henry had wanted that, too. But that was too late now. Henry wasn't coming back.

Regina and Emma came rushing up to the ICU where Henry had been treated. Emma froze when she saw her son lying on the cot completely lifeless, like he had been all night, but this time it was different. No doctors were working on him and the only nurse in the room was cleaning him up – turning off the heart monitor, taking off the oxygen mask and ridding him of all the wires and needles. He was dead, and she couldn't take her eyes off him.

"Emma…" she heard Graham say, but didn't turn to him. Right now she needed to say goodbye to her son. He knew that; he just wanted her to know that he was there if she needed him. He wanted so badly to go to her when he saw her trembling, but he stayed back and watched her brush hair away from Henry's forehead. He felt his own eyes fill up with tears, his heart not only aching because his love was in pain, but because of the loss of who he considered his stepson.

He stepped away from the glass and towards the wall, leaning against it with his hand and his head buried in the other. This was it. Henry had lost the fight. They had lost Henry. And Graham would lose Emma. He had no doubts that Emma would leave town as soon as possible. This was the breaking point for her. She'd stayed because of Henry. And while, yes, Graham knew she loved him, he also knew that she wouldn't be able to stay here with her son gone.

But when he felt the wind, he immediately knew the curse had been broken and that Henry would be okay. Emma was powerful. There were no doubts about that either.

She looked over her shoulder at Graham through the glass wall. He stood with a proud look on his face. She returned his smile, but it vanished quickly at the thought that he could disappear any moment now. With the curse broken, wouldn't that mean that they all had to return to Fairytale Land? He noticed her worried look and went to go in and join her and her son.

She turned and looked at Henry again. "If the curse is broken, why didn't they go back?" She whispered, terrified that she was about to lose Graham.

Graham entered the room just in time to hear Henry say, "I don't know." To what, he didn't know.

He came up behind Emma and placed a hand on her back as a comforting gesture. Her head jerked in his direction as he said her name. "You okay?" He then asked.

She stood up straight, looking at him still. "Right now I am," she said and took a firm hold of the sleeve of his jacket. She'd tried to come off as sounding hopeful and happy, when in truth she couldn't shake the feeling that he would evaporate in front of her any second. He wasn't convinced, but decided not to push it for now.

He was about to say something when something fell to the floor behind them, making them all turn their heads simultaneously. All three went over to the nurse who'd dropped a tray only to find her completely frozen by the sight of a purple cloud creeping in and covering the town.

**Let me know what you guys think :) Happy Monday!**


	4. Chapter 4

**SUMMARY:** "Any curse can be broken with a true love's kiss…" AU Graham & Emma  
**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** Wow! Updating twice in one month? That's quite an accomplishment for me when the entire fic hadn't been written at the time when the first chapter was published. But that's how it goes when you go to the Land of the Light (aka Skagen) where I find my inspiration. I go camping there every Summer and this year I was only supposed to be there for like 10 days, but then my father extended the trip so that I got TWO WHOLE WEEKS up there! Lucky me! That hasn't happened in YEARS! Haha, sorry for rambling. I'm just still really excited about having been there for so long. I should do that more often :P  
It's a bit short, but it's short AND sweet! Short, sweet and simple, I guess? At least that's what I think of it :)  
I dedicate this chapter to one of my two best friends, Mélissa Estephan, because her heart aches for Gremma as much as mine does. I love you, my Ginny 3  
**DISCLAIMER: **Unfortunately I don't own anything. If I did, Graham would still be alive.

**Heart Beats Fast**

"So, I'm really the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming?" Emma asked Graham while Henry was getting dressed in the other room. Her arms were crossed, her back turned to him as she looked out the window, watching the purple smoke, cloud, whatever evaporate.

"You are," he said with wonder. "You look so much like your mother." Graham put a supporting hand on her back. He knew this was hard for her. He knew how much anger she'd felt towards her parents for so many years and now she was faced with reuniting with them. Snow wasn't just her mother; Mary Margaret had been Emma's best friend since she came here. Would that friendship be lost now that they were mother and daughter?

Emma sighed and closed her eyes. _The chin thing,_ she thought to herself. She didn't know how she felt about Mary Margaret being her mother. She loved her as a friend, but as her mother? Who was Snow White? Was she at all like her alter ego? And then there was David… He'd hurt her best friend and now this guy she'd hated for the past couple weeks was her father? She felt like running away; running from her problems, but she wouldn't leave Henry or Graham.

"I don't think I can face them."

"Emma…" He moved his hand from her back and instead wrapped his arms around her front, pulling her back against his chest. She didn't melt into it though; she still stood with her arms crossed, trying to keep her emotions in check. She shook her head, closing her eyes.

"It's too much," she whispered.

He kissed her neck, leaning his chin on her shoulder, and it was all it took for Emma to melt into him. She uncrossed her arms and placed her hands on his. What was he doing to her? She had never been so affectionate, so intimate. His nature was contagious.

"It's going to be okay," he told her. "_We're_ going to be okay."

A solemn tear ran down her cheek and she turned her head so that her ear was pressed against his chest, right above his heart. "You promise?" She whispered.

"I do."

As he said this she felt a jolt of electricity go through her entire body. Emma swiftly stepped out of his embrace as it dawned on her that they weren't what she thought they were; that there was something more to _them_. She turned and looked at Graham with wide eyes.

"If what happened in there," she thumbed over her shoulder towards Henry's hospital room, "My kissing Henry on the forehead and breaking the curse with a true love's kiss…" Graham knew where this was going, but he let her continue anyway. "You remembered _weeks_ ago! How the hell did your curse break before everyone else's?"

"I think you already know the answer to that," he said slowly. He was terrified of what she would think of it. He knew that he loved it. When she'd kissed him almost eight weeks ago and brought back his memories, he knew that she was it. There had been no doubt in his mind. He just hoped that she was okay with it, that she wouldn't feel too much pressure.

Oh, she sure knew the answer! And she was certainly surprised when she felt a tingle inside her chest, as if her heart soared. "So, what does this mean?" She asked in a low voice.

He took a step closer to her. "It means that this," he gestured between himself and Emma with his hand, "is stronger than we thought."

"Mom," Henry stopped Emma before she could say anything. Her eyes averted to her son instead of Graham. Her heart melted when she heard him call her 'Mom'. It was the first time he had, and she wasn't sure she would ever get used to it. "It's not a bad thing." He waited until she seemed to be out of her reverie before he continued. "You wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for him, and neither would he. You love each other. You're connected." Henry hoped with everything inside him that his mother would let Graham in.

"It doesn't change anything," Graham was quick to add.

Emma looked at Graham. Her face had softened and her eyes let him know that she _did_ love him. He stepped over to her and threaded his fingers through her disheveled hair, bringing her lips to meet his for a soft, lingering kiss. Henry turned because, well first off, he didn't want to invade on their privacy, and second, in his innocent mind seeing his mother kiss someone was gross.

"Oh, Emma!" Someone then gasped behind them interrupting the intimate moment and they all immediately recognized the voice as the one of Mary Margaret; Snow, Emma's mother…

Emma tensed and pulled out of Graham's embrace, away from his lips. She felt anger again and was more than ready to completely ignore them, grab ahold of the two men in her life and run out of the hospital, away from them. But when she opened her eyes she felt Graham's looking at her and she looked into his. With his reassurance and hand in hers she turned. And the minute she laid eyes on her parents for the first time she softened when she saw their infinite love for her shining from their eyes.

She was overwhelmed by the feeling of her heart soaring. It was amazing how fast unconditional love worked. It'd happened the second she found out she was pregnant with Henry and it happened just now. There was no doubt in her mind that she loved her parents unconditionally. All wasn't good though. It would take time, but at least she now knew that they _did_ love her; that they'd done what they'd thought was best for her, for them. If they hadn't sent her through the wardrobe they would've all been separated forever, and that was a thought that broke her heart. Not only that, but Henry wouldn't be here. Graham wouldn't be in her life the way he was now, and she never would've known Mary Margaret as a friend. That friendship truly meant a lot to her and proved to be very valuable.

In this moment Emma couldn't be more grateful for the close relationship she'd established with Mary Margaret. Thanks to that, Snow knew her enough to know not to push her too hard, and she could see it in both her parents' eyes that they were waiting for her to reach out. It was obvious that Snow had let David in on that little information, so as to not scare her off.

She smiled softly and slowly started walking towards them, reaching out, and it was all it took to make a tear fall from Snow and David's eyes. They closed the distance in one long stride and enveloped her in a tight hug.

Graham stood back, keeping his distance, proudly watching his love with a smile on his face. He put an arm around Henry's shoulders, pulling him to him, feeling proud of him, too. He didn't think he could get any happier.

As Snow pulled away from the hug, she looked at Graham, a wide smile spreading on her face. It made Graham look toward the ground, blushing for some reason. She looked back at Emma, reaching up to cradle her face in her hands.

"Let's go home," she said and glanced at Graham for a few seconds, letting him know that that included him as well. His entire being burst with silent joy and he fought to keep tears at bay.

Emma turned around to look at him, not at all missing the not-so-subtle glance her mother had shot at her boyfriend. She smiled at him and reached out for his hand as they all left the hospital.

Henry got his mother. Snow and David got their daughter. Graham and Emma got each other, a son and a family neither one of them thought they would ever have.

_**The end**_

**Well, guys, this is the end. But don't despair! If you like my writing - and Gremma, which you obviously do, duuuh haha - keep an eye out, cause I am working on several other fics as well. However, almost all of them are just brainstorms so far, but they will hopefully become more soon! :)**

**I would like to thank you all for reading this and sticking with it, even though it's taken me so long to update. I really hope you liked this last chapter.**

**And to all of you who review as well, THANK YOU! It really means a lot to "hear" that I've been doing a good job with this :)**


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